County: Kildare Site name: BAWNOGUE, TIPPERKEVIN AND WALSHESTOWN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 97E0081
Author: Dominic Delany
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 680533m, N 712656m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.158305, -6.795815
Two phases of topsoil-stripping were monitored in advance of a proposed development at Bawnogue, Tipperkevin and Walshestown in March and December 1997. The three townlands are situated within the bounds of the medieval parish of Tipperkevin, which apparently takes its name from Tobercanan, or the Well of St Caomhan. This well is situated close to the medieval church and graveyard site about 1km south-east of the site of the proposed development. An old roadway skirts the ecclesiastical site to the north and continues in a westerly direction towards Bawnogue. This trackway is not marked on OS maps but it is described as a very ancient road on an 1815 estate map. It is thought to have been part of the pilgrims' route to Glendalough. The site of a possible deserted medieval settlement has been identified from aerial photography about 0.5km east of the subject site. There are no recorded sites or monuments within the area of the proposed development.
The site is located in an area of undulating topography (OD 150-165m) on the western edge of the foothills of the Wicklow mountains. The proposed development comprises the extraction of sand and gravel from an area of 42.5 acres on an overall site of 44.6 acres. The site will be developed over a 4–5-year period.
The stratigraphy was consistent across the stripped areas. The topsoil consisted of a light greyish-brown silty clay with inclusions of roots, flecks of charcoal, pebbles and occasional cobbles. It had an average depth of 0.25m and overlay yellowish-brown and grey silty clay subsoils. On the higher ground outcrops of dark grey medium sand and gravel directly underlay the topsoil.
The remains of a small semicircular mortared stone feature (diameter c. 1m) were encountered near the summit of a hillock. It was composed of two courses of rounded and angular cobbles (average diameter 0.15m x 0.1m) and was bonded with a cream-coloured sand and lime mortar. The feature was just 0.15m in height and rested on a compacted grey silty clay subsoil. It contained a deposit of dark grey silty clay (0.1m thick) with inclusions of roots, pebbles and flecks of charcoal and lime. No finds were recovered from this deposit but a sherd of blackware pottery and a couple of fragments of red brick were found in the immediate vicinity, suggesting a post-medieval or modern date for this feature.
No other archaeological features or deposits were encountered.
20–21 Main Street, Portlaoise, Co. Laois
